Knowledge and Awareness of Osteoporosis among Saudi Physicians and Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

AIM: We aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis in a sample of 141 health professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A group of 141 health professionals (medical, surgical, primary health care and nursing departments) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study in the period from August 2017 to November 2017. The participants completed a questionnaire composed of 19 questions about osteoporosis which covering the main domains of knowledge on osteoporosis. Each correct answer carried 1 point whereas incorrect or ‘don’t know’ carried 0 points. This gave a total score range of 0-19. A cut-off level of < 10 points was considered as poor knowledge while ≥ 10 was regarded as good knowledge. RESULTS: Out of 141 respondents, 78 were females, 63 males, mean age of the participants was 38.17 ± 9.6 years, less than 40 years (n = 89), more than 40 years (n = 52). Nurses (n = 54), medical (n = 29), surgical (n = 35), primary health care (n = 23). Most of the study group with experience of fewer than 10 years (n = 66), 127 (90.1%) had good knowledge and 14 (9.9%) had poor knowledge p-value < 0.01. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that Saudi health professionals have a good of knowledge about osteoporosis and no significant difference in osteoporosis knowledge between the health professional subgroups.